It's That Time Again...

August. I wonder if that means summer will finally start. I swear, we must have switched summers with BC this year. Or South Korea. Seriously, this is nuts.

This is the time of year when for some unexplained reason, I always get the craving to scrap Christmas pages. I got 4 done in the last week! With holidays, trying to keep The Boy entertained all day, and worrying about whether I'm picking up enough shifts, I'm amazed there's been any time for scrapping at all. Yet this is what I feel like scrapping.



There are so many gorgeous Christmas themed scrapping supplies out there...who says you only have to use them in December? Or January, for that matter...I have to wonder about that. I think LSS's should promote Christmas products in January, since that's really when we'd be scrapping our Christmas photos, isn't it? Oh well, that's just my 2 cents.



So I got talked into picking up some Glimmer Mist the other week there. The woman in the LSS was all excited about getting it in, saying it had already been selling out pretty fast, and my friend was all over it too. It just looks so swirly and hypnotic in that little bottle, doesn't it? Anyway, I tried it and wasn't that impressed. It does look lovely on raw chipboard, but so far that's the ONLY thing it works on. It won't stick to anything the least bit shiny, and curls paper and cardstock. If you're a big fan of chipboard and sparkly, this is your product. I just wish it worked on a wider range of stuff.

Kit Krazy

I've been having so much fun making up my own scrapbook kits! I have 6 made so far, two each of three different sets that are actually quite similar now that I look at them:







I'm working on a 4th right now, a more boyish-themed one since that's really my area. These 3 were mostly inspired by embellishments I've been hoarding. I tried my best to co-ordinate the papers and keep to one page per company per kit. Sort of a personal challenge since it's so easy to use all papers from the same line.

So I finished up the last few albums from Buffalo, and have made some serious headway on my Florida album. My new scrapping goal for the summer is to do more pages just for fun, as opposed to just for a challenge I've created, or to use up pictures I'm stuck on. Well, okay, this isn't really a new goal. I guess it's always a desire of mine. I guess what I'm saying is now that I'm caught up, I'm ready to go back to scrapping whatever I want whenever I feel so inspired.

I've also been pondering the idea of submitting pages, and whether it's something I'm going to continue doing. In one class at CKC, the teacher confirmed that how recent your products are does matter when submitting. Last year's stuff would "probably" be ok, but anything older and magazines won't really be interested, since they want to showcase the newer items. Considering it is a business with products to sell, it makes sense, but I have to admit I was a little disappointed. I could care less what year my stuff was created, as long as it goes with my pictures. I've never once made the decision to use one product over the other based on which one was newer, it's all about what goes best with my creative vision. However I can accept that magazines do have certain objectives, and that's fine. I just don't plan to make any changes to my scrap habits in order to conform to their rules. I don't throw out last year's clothes when the new spring fashions come out, neither will I stop using Chameleon alphas and Basic Grey Blitzen paper because they came out 3 years ago. I just won't submit those pages.

On a slightly related note, I have decided to try something new on my blog. Just like everyone, I love patterned paper, but there are a few lines that just really do it for me. So I've decided to celebrate those lines by showcasing all the things I've done with them in my blog. This week I wanna start with what has been my favourite since I first saw it over a year ago: Cosmo Cricket Halfway Cafe. It goes with my picture like my son goes with cars. In fact, all the papers in this boyish line are named after cities from the song Route 66. Which, of course, my son adores thanks to Disney/Pixar.

Scraplifted from a SUV ad:


My son's first sarcastic comment:


Little known Antonio facts:


Did I mention this paper is totally Antonio?


A Christmas present for my dad:


Here's my latest one:

On a roll!

I can't believe it's tomorrow. June 27, 2008...me & DH's 10 freakin' year anniversary!!! Isn't that just crazy??? I don't wanna say something cheesy like "where did the time go" but seriously...sometimes I think the only difference between me and my cousins are memories of the 1980's out of diapers.

So I have no idea what we're doing tomorrow...we're doing SOMEthing...but I'm not allowed to know what. All I have to go by is a note in my Sanity Saver written in his handwriting that says "Be ready for anything by 3pm. No shifts till Saturday." I'm excited...but yeah, I'm nervous too. Partially because I'm in the dark, partially because I haven't had a good night to work on his anniversary gift yet. He's going out later tonight...I better get a move on!!!

So anyway, I've been making my best effort at the annual stay-at-home-mom venture while DS is home from school while dealing with my newfound scrap momentum by 1) working on my Florida album and 2) finishing some old projects (and of course my Buffalo pages). Here's what I've accomplished so far:


"1, 2, 3, 4X6"


"Latest & Greatest With Basic Grey"


"Latest & Greatest With Basic Grey"


"Scheming Around"


"Scheming Around"


"Playful Pages"


"Scheming Around"


"1, 2, 3, 4X6"


An unfinished object from last year

I also did a couple of cool 2-pagers but I suck at taking pictures of 2-pagers, so those will have to wait. As for Florida...it's almost done except for titles, journalling and embellishments. The hard part of deciding which pics go on which pages and how, is almost over with.

Anyway I gotta cut this off as DH just took off and I gotta finish his present!!!

Buffalo Girls

This is a journey best illustrated in pictures.

Meeting the girls at Union Station

Ready to scrap

Meeting "Rod". Is this food?

Scrapping in the hotel room...why didn't we think of this last year?

They have Timmie's in the USA!

It's a little different though.

Shopping Shopping Shopping

Can you believe I had no advance notice of the colours these layouts would be? Man I'm a good guesser!

The beginning of the most gorgeous project I've ever made at CKC

The creator of said project. I'm proud to share her last name.

The Croppers

The Browsers

The Posers

Don't be fooled. Any one of these innocent looking women can and will tear your arm off for a glue stick

No one is above hiding behind a pop machine

Heading out for chocolate martinis!

I think it's sort of rhetorical to go on and on about how much fun this trip was. It's pretty obvious, I would assume. There were a few downers, such as losing a $32 bag of buttons and acrylic letters I bought in the Vendor Faire, and having my first negative alcohol experience which prevented me from joining in the fun at the Chocolate Bar on Saturday. However, there were plenty of ups, like American sizes at Tim's for Canadian prices, finding a Lightning McQueen license plate album and getting a spectacular deal on a huge box of chipboard. The projects this year were absolutely stunning, and the classes very educational. I took home a lot more than just scrap supplies. I can't wait to get some time and really make some new pages just for fun!

Gettin' Hyped

CKC Buffalo is 2 weeks away...and I've been trying to get my mojo up (and my photos printed) in preparation! Here's some Mother's Day cards:



On the downside, KC has been down again this week as they fix up a few more thingies...but on the bright side it has forced me to use a little more time for actual scrapping. I finished my Designer Original which I hope to post soon...the homepage and gallery are up but so far the forums are still down. In the meantime here's a sneak peek:



Other than that I've been working on pages for the Book Of KC Spirits Swap, which I have basically finished. They come in 4 colours. I may yet add more to them, perhaps at least the date, but I do want to keep them pretty simple. 6 X 6 fills up fast.



Now for some exciting news...I'm going to be in Canadian Scrapbooker again!!! I just submitted 4 pages for the winter call, and suddenly I get an e-mail asking for one of the pages I submitted for the fall call! Since it's part of the copyright agreement to remove it from my online galleries, I can't show you the specific one, but if you can remember, it's the one with all the shoes.



Now here's something to think about. I send them pages for every call they put out, mostly the layouts I like the best, which often are the ones I put the most time, effort and product into. Out of all those, only two have been chosen. Though quite distinct from one another, both could be described as simple, and neither use a lot of brand name product--in fact, neither use much more than multicoloured cardstock. I wonder if there's something to be learned from this?

In The Meantime....

Kindred Creations is suffering some technical difficulties right now...I try to look on the positive side and say, sometimes it has to get worse for it to get better. I know the owner is working hard to fix it and hopefully this will work out all those little bugs once and for all. What can I say...it's not like I'm a technogenius. Making this blog is the extent of my abilities. I'm just glad the KC Ideas Blog is still up...if you're of the many waiting for KC to be up and running again, why not check it out? I just made an entry last Monday!

In the world of scrapbooking, I've mainly been working on a file folder album based on my fellow KC DT member Teresa's Spirited Scrap from last month. It's about my visit last year to Penetanguishene, Ontario--the town I lived in for the first 10 years of my life. I've had the pics for a year and have been anxious to see them scrapped in their own mini album but really wanted it to be as close to perfect as possible. This was a trip with an insane amount of emotional memories, in other words the very essence of scrapbooking itself, and I want to do it justice. I use the SEI BeBop collection. Here's a sneak peek:



In the world of everything else...I'm still tired. I know I'm the one who chose to work nights, and yes, I still prefer them to days. Maybe this is a warped way of looking at it, but the way I figure, the only other thing I could be doing at night is sleeping anyway. So I may as well work, and sleep during the day--when I choose to. If I have something I need to do like go to the post office or pick up train tickets, I can work my sleep schedule around that. But if I'm working during the day, I keep thinking I could be doing other things instead. KWIM? Nonetheless I need to work on my ability to say no to overtime. I forget how much it drains me!

Here's the last layout I made:



It was for a game of Layout Tag on KC. The funny thing was the original LO was one of mine. Well, technically, it was one of Making Memories' from last year's CKC trip, but I did change it up a little.

I've also changed my scraproom to the laundry room. It may sound like a downgrade but it will be a more separated space for me to create in, and also allows me a second chance to re-think my organizational strategy now that I've seen what I have and how it needs to fit in. It also allows us to have some semblance of a peaceful bedroom setup. Here's a sneak peek:



If you've gotten this far, thanks so much for dropping by. I would love to make this blogging thing a more regular activity. Sweet dreams 8)

Something to get excited about!

Yesterday was awesome. Don decided he wanted to do his birthday lunch at the Edoko and so I met him there at 11:30...not only was lunch awesome as always (teppanyaki is my favourite!) but his lunch break coincided perfectly with the fact that I needed to be home by 1 p.m. to register for CKC Buffalo! I probably didn't blog about it then, but I went last year and had an absolute blast with 4 other girls from Scrapbook Star....


This year I really wanted to register online the moment it opened to make sure I didn't miss out on any classes. Guess it was a good call--I heard the clear album class sold out that same day, I had a feeling it would! So glad I got in!


Anyway I'm feeling much better today, even though I'm heading into another 4-day work weekend...it's all good. Gotta save up for Buffalo! I even scrapbooked this week just for fun! Here's a page I made for a member challenge at KC:
And one I made just for fun:

And a 2-pager:










Sweet Dreams!

Winter Blues

Ironically, this is Morning 5 after what has been an exhausting work week, and I'm wide awake. I know the attendance here is pretty sparse but I really just felt like making a comment this morning.

I want to apologize to anyone who I've tired with my incessant complaining and general bad attitude concerning this winter weather. My area has been covered no less than a foot deep since mid-December and I'll admit it's especially getting to me this year.

Last year was the beginning of a new age of my life, an age where I finally took serious actions to eliminate my anxiety, and part of this was arranging various factors in my life so that I had better control over them and was therefore able to keep away from things that made me panic. And it was working.

This December was the first time that the weather actually got between me and my everyday duties, and it was totally beyond my control. I had been so in control for so long, and I couldn't deal with it. I felt like 2005 all over again.

I don't ever want to feel like that again. But I'm still working on it, with the support of God and my two favourite boys. For now, every time someone tells me they heard we're due for another blizzard I roll my eyes and pray I haven't booked any shifts for that night. I may have posted last year around this time regarding my near-accident and how my aunt died in a winter collision in Ottawa when she was 27, but suffice it to say I don't enjoy driving this time of year.

I need to remember that just because something is out of my control does not make me powerless. Nothing is worth anxiety. And as I have recently come to learn, it IS entirely possible to have caution without anxiety. Caution with anxiety is fear. My goal is to live without fear.

I pray all my friends and family will understand this and accept my apology. I look forward to trying to maintain a more positive attitude in ALL seasons.

Expelliarmus

Today has been another lovely day of sleeping in till 11:30, doing yoga, drinking tea and wasting time on the internet. One heavily addictive site I've come across recently is www.joindumbledoresarmy.com where I have now won almost 30,000 points and am very close to being in the South Korea Top 300. For some weird reason there's no Canada option on "choose your country" so I went with the last place I lived instead. Why not?

I'm also addicted to the Harry Potter mini-games on Facebook, where I'm now #62 in Ravenclaw house out of about 400 thousand. Dolores Umbridge's Cats is particularly addictive.

Yes, you may think this is an insane waste of time for someone who's almost 30 and everything, but this is a day off for me. What else exactly am I supposed to be doing? I already did all my housework this week. I don't work until tomorrow night. Don and Tones are at school. How I waste my time is entirely up to me, and I really don't care for daytime television.

I added a slideshow to my blog, with a bunch of my scrapbook layouts. Let's just see if I can figure out how to place it.

Sweet Dreams for now!

Dreams of Spring

Hmmm, well there's a change...I actually shared my blog link!!! So in the eventuality that I have company, let's update.

I went to FLORIDA!!! I have never been anywhere where you can wear a tank top in January before, and living where I do it was very hard to visualize till I stepped out of Ft. Lauderdale airport. Oh wow did I need that! It was just the perfect escape, and though I did have to eventually return to the white stuff again, I'm glad I got to skip a week of it. I'm trying to have a positive attitude, but I get cold so easily. I'm triple and quadruple layering my clothing every day. Well, it's February now...and I'm already looking forward to spring.

Anyway, I am still scrapping, and still designing for KC, though unfortunately Scrapbooking Cafe has gone under. I won't get into the long story again but suffice it to say I'm disappointed.

Haven't bought a lot of new scrap stuff since the Boxing Day clearance at the OTHER LSS that closed up shop suddenly. I understand that business is a tough world and all, but really, it would be so nice for once if a store would give a little bit of notice before they fled town, kwim?

I'm also working lots and lots of night shifts, mostly on call. I've discovered I love night shifts. Once you get past re-setting your internal clock, it's actually one of the best shifts you can work. I do well working alone...I like a job where I can sing while I mop and watch Star Trek: TNG while I clean wheelchairs. The only questions is what will I do this summer when Tones is home from school all day?! I hope they have lots of weekends available!

I've made a friend from work, who I have successfully turned into a scrapbooker. In payment, she has successfully turned me into a Harry Potter junkie. Neither of us are complaining though, and enjoy a weekly routine of cropping together while watching HP movies.

Oh, how the time flies when you get up at 4:30! I have to be off to yet another night shift in a little while so I better wrap this up so I have time to make myself a big bag of popcorn to bring with me. Sweet Dreams!